Frozen Secrets
by Templar Rad
Summary: The Leviathan crashed over the swiss alps. Again. But they're not getting up this time. T to play it safe
1. Explosion

**I started writing this a while ago when we got like a 1 ½ feet of snow here(half meter, or so) and it was just…bitterly cold. Then it melted a little and crusted over. Sorry about not being able to find a better location than Westerfeld used, but sorry, there aren't many cold mountain ranges in Europe.**

EEEERRRRNNNNGGGGGGG!

Alarms blared in Deryn's ears as she rushed over to the Flechette bats; she needed to feed them if they were going to get a shot at the dozen German aero planes and zeppelin.

They had been heading to Japan when a message was received that Doctor Barlow was needed back in London. They were ambushed over the Swiss Alps. Again.

"Alek! What are you doing here? You need to be safe in the cabins!"

"I'm here to help you, Dylan!" Both of them yelling over the sound of the sirens.

There is a big boom, as an aeroplane crashes into the bow of the _Leviathan_. The ship tilts, so that the bow is facing the ground, they're falling.

"Alek, get yourself to one of the Huxley's, it'll slow your fall in the crash!"

"No Dylan, you're coming too!"

"A Huxley is built for 1 person, not 2!"

"We'd be falling anyways!"

"I've got a duty onboard this ship; I need to help keep it alive!"

"Dylan, you're coming with me!" As Alek came over and pulled/dragged/carried Deryn all the way topside, where he set both of them up with a Huxley.

"Alek, go yourself, I can last here!"

"No you can't! He cut the rope of the Huxley, knowing with both of their weights it would give them a slow decent.

"We're headed straight for the mountains, you _Dummkopf_! What…" One of the German aeroplanes flies by them, machine guns scattering tons of bullets in their direction. The Huxley sways, and starts falling faster, some hydrogen pockets had been popped by the bullets.

"Dylan! Prepare for impact!" Alek bends his knees, and takes a quick glance at the grazing cut on his right arm. It was not serious he told himself, just a little cut. Then, wonders why Dylan hasn't responded. AHHH, THE GROUND!

The snow blossomed and then fell, covering them with a dusting of snow that had been agitated upon their impact. Alek managed to pull himself up out of the chest deep snow he had been deposited into with the force of impact. He checked himself, that cut on his arm, and some bruises where he broke the surface ice that guarded many feet of powdery snow below.

"Dylan, where are you?" Panic raced through his voice, wondering if his friend was suffocating under the snow.

He quickly spots the midshipman, after Bovril crawls out of his pocket, looks in Dylan's direction and exclaims "_Mr_.Sharp" Wait a minute…Bovril? How did he get there?

Alek runs over to his friend, or tries to, considering he sinks waist deep in snow with every step.

"Dylan, come on, I'll help you up." Alek grabs one of Deryn's hands and tugs. When her arm is lifted, it reveals the bloody wound in her left hip.

"Alek…" Deryn manages to roll over, revealing that the ice had cut her face as they crashed, along as seemingly bruising her everywhere.

"Dylan! I…are you hurt?" Alek loses control of his facial muscles; they're going ecstatic with panic at the sight of his dying friend.

"Machine gun…hit me…hip…" Deryn is losing consciousness, these last few words taking all of her strength.

"Dylan, don't go! You're the best friend I've ever had!" Alek yells, as if he could barter for Deryn's life.

"We could have been…more than that" Deryn passes out, her wound to serious.

"Come on, Dylan! There's a spot on the mountain over there, where all the snow is piled. I'll dig us a place there." Alek reassures himself, lifting Deryn up onto his back, with pubescent strength he just seemed to have acquired.

After 10 minutes of walking through deep snow, he reached there spot he had been looking at, only to realize he needed a shovel.

"Wait, the Huxley's survival package! There's food, matches, and a shovel in there! Plus, the bandages for Dylan. We might just make it, Dylan!" He says to Deryn's unconscious body, and to himself.

Alek rummages around in the snow, trying to find the pack beneath the seat of the Huxley. The Huxley was dead and broken, so finding the survival pack would be hard. They crashed in an 8x8 space or so, and the snow was 6 feet deep if you went all the way down. But wait, what's that? A package…That's it!

Alek examines the survival package, finding everything in perfect condition; it had landed right so nothing had been broken. He trudged over to the spot where he had put Dylan down, and started digging into that spot, to make a shelter for them both.

Alek Dug for an hour or so, at that point he was completely exhausted, and there was more than enough room for the two of them. He picked up Dylan again, and set him inside, leaning against a wall. Alek then went in. He stashed the kit in a hole he made in the wall, except he took out a few matches and a freeze dried meal.

He went out and got the wooden seat and leather rigging from the Huxley, but glanced up to see the leviathan on the ground, completely on fire. The Germans were still pestering it, making sure there were no survivors. Maybe fire could wait.

He grabbed the stuff he had gone for, then scurried back to his shelter, he could cook and eat when the Germans had left. What he could do was get the bandages out and start bandaging himself and Dylan. He put a wrap on his arm, that was probably all it needed. For Dylan though, he would need much more. He cut a piece of Dylan's trousers off, but only the side piece where the wound was, he didn't want to invade him any more right now, at least not before asking. He put some there, than wrapped it around to Dylan's other hip, where he tied it off. Dylan's cuts on the face where much harder, he wound up making bandages that wrapped completely around his head.

He moved over closer to Dylan, sharing body heat would be crucial to surviving here. Ho long would they be here? Who would come rescue them? Would anybody come rescue them? Volger…Klopp both dead, they were onboard the Leviathan when it went up in flames. The last, the most prudent in his mind; what had Dylan meant when he said "We could have been more than friends"? These were the thoughts that went through Alek's head, just before he went to sleep.

**That was okay? I hope so, it was a little painful to write, considering I'm not good at writing stressful moments, where the slightest mistake could cause a contradictory plot. R&R!**


	2. New Dawn

**Hey, it's chapter 2! This makes it no longer a drabble/one shot! And trust me, there are WAY too many of those!**

Deryn's eyes batted open, adjusting to where she was. She couldn't remember what happened, except that Huxley flight with Alek…Oh gosh. They had jumped off of the _Leviathan_, had it made it, had they made a mistake? Deryn then realized the bandages on her face, and the bigger one wrapped around her waist. It was early in the morning, she guessed 500 hours. Alek had taken care in doing all of this, the bandages were done well, the shelter had ventilation, he had been careful enough to place her so that when he leaned against her-which he was-he was leaning on her good side.

She bumped him, she wanted to wake him up, get as much info as she could. Alek stirred, she shoved again. This time he snapped up, hitting his head on the snow walls.

"Waah!" Alek yelped in surprise.

"Alek, you're awake!"

"Dylan, you're awake! You're still… Alive! You made it through the night!" Alek exclaims now, happy that his friend is alive, and conscious again!

"Alek, what happened? Did the _Leviathan _survive?"

"I'm afraid not, Dylan." Alek says, a glum look on his face.

"Oh…well then, how bad was the fire?"

"Very bad Dylan, the entire ship went up last time I looked."

"So, we survived…and only us it seems"

"Yep, I told you; you should've come!" Alek says as he gets a grin on his face, happy at being right, and pokes Dylan in the chest.

"Hey!" Deryn yells at him, her voice gone high again. Then her hand comes out of nowhere, and slaps Alek in the face.

"Wha…What…was that for?" Alek asks, his hands going to the bright red hand print on his face.

"Alek…I haven't been telling the truth to you. I…Have a secret I haven't told you, that I should have a while ago. I would say don't tell, but there is nobody to tell."

"I have another secret too…"

"Alek. I'm a girl."

"Oh…I uhhh…Sorry, I didn't know!" Alek says, realizing the huge wrong that poking her was.

"Alek, call me Deryn, not Dylan. I didn't want to keep it from you, but if the crew found out, I would've been discharged and sent back to Glasgow."

"I understand, Deryn. Now, for my secret; When we received word that was needed back in London, we also got word that the emperor of Austria-Hungary had died. Deryn, I'm the emperor now."

"So, when we get rescued, will you try and end this war?"

"Yes Deryn, I will. I've learned that Darwinist creatures are not Un-godly. Wait a minute…YOU'RE A GIRL!" Alek exclaims, the news setting in.

"Sorry, Alek, I know I should've told you, but I was afraid you would tell. I know I was paranoid, that you are trustworthy, but I was just too afraid."

"Deryn, you don't need to explain yourself to me, I understand…Wait a minute, again, you're not telling the whole truth." Alek says, getting suspicious of her motives to telling him. There was more than 1, he told himself.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about…"She then realizes that he may have figured something out. She felt a pang of despair, but then realized it might not be all bad.

"Deryn, tell me the truth. You _like _me don't you." Alek gets a little smile on his face, not sure whether to be happy that somebody thought him attractive, or scared that Deryn would want to be…with him.

"Blisters! I'm busted, aren't I. No more crushing in secret anymore." Deryn puts on a little sad face, but keeping an eye on him, hoping he would confess his feelings too. She then thought this unlikely, because he only knew she was a girl for a few minutes."

"Deryn, I don't what to say, or how to feel, really. I mean, I'm flattered that you like me but… I don't know. I'm gonna go…check the _Leviathan_ for survivors, and supplies. So ummm…Sit tight, well, not that you have a choice." Alek manages to say, feeling that after the first sentence it was all awkward.

"Okay Alek, bye. Be careful!"

Alek was already on his way, just nodding back at her.

**Well, there it is. I made him accept her…sort of. Atleast have mixed feeling. He's UNDERSTANDING her, is this a problem. Sorry for being snappy, some people criticize a quick make-up, I have another story in the works, and trust me, it is MUCH better. **


	3. What had she done?

**As I said in my other story, "Will Alek make it?" I'm not a girl, so writing from Deryn's perspective is a but trickier. Sorry to disappoint anybody about that, but it may help you see Alek's perspective a bit better, if a guy writes it. This off topic, but has anybody noticed this site is pretty much female dominated? I'm a loner here, an outcast:(**

What have I done? Deryn thought.

She had wanted to tell Alek she was a girl, and once they were alone, she had promised herself she would do it. That was the perfect time, even if he triggered it wrong. But then admitting that she _liked _him, was that a mistake? She couldn't answer that now, she'd know the answer once it's clear that he likes her back.

She hoped he did, just because she liked him that much. But it didn't seem likely, he was too barking _scared_! She didn't know why, Alek knew that she wouldn't hurt him, or only liked him for his title, or that she would abuse him. He knew she was trustworthy. Or at least, she hoped he did. Was he just cautious and shocked that his best friend was a girl? Or was he scared of his own feelings? He probably had never had a crush before, and wasn't sure what to make of it. Sure, she had, but that was just with the Bum-rags back home. They were all daft, didn't know anything at all about the world outside of Glasgow.

Alek though, he was different. He knew about the world outside where he lived. He also shared the lack of a father that she did. He was cute, charming, and sweet. He was never mean to her, even when she was Dylan, he could've been rougher, but he wasn't. In that was the way that he was also nice. He wasn't overly ambitious about her liking him as most other boys were, he was cautious, he wouldn't make a move on her that she didn't approve of, wouldn't abuse her, wouldn't do anything she didn't want.

She thought about that. Alek wouldn't be sex happy as some boys would, but if they were together, the relationship would be slow. But he would be loyal, and would try to be perfect for her. He would be forgiving, and wouldn't get mad at her easily, if at all. She would really need to mess up to repel him.

She kept kept telling herself this, but there was still the question of whether or not he liked her!

**Explanation for shortness, above. Explanation for the way Alek seems, in chapter 2 author's note at end.**


	4. Long walk

**It's a bit longer, if you want to just see interaction between the two of them, skip it. If you want to see Alek's thoughts, read on!**

Alek's head spun with what had just happened. Or, maybe it was his emotions that were spinning; he didn't know what to make of it.

He learned that Dylan was Deryn. Deryn was a girl. This sent some hormones throughout Alek. He wasn't sure what to make of it, how to feel. Agghhh! He shouldn't be trying to feel a certain way, but to feel what _feels_ natural. And that, was something he couldn't decode. The feelings were mixed, he seemed to want to be with Deryn, because of the way she was. But some were scared of Deryn. Not so much scared of Deryn but of messing up, being insulting or violating her.

Was the latter emotion just because he liked her and didn't want to mess up, and possibly lose her? He couldn't tell…He was too busy thinking about how he felt to notice he had reached the burned out corpse of the leviathan. He tripped over somebody's corpse. Look for survivors, right!

"Anybody out there?" Alek yelled

"irgend jemand?" Trying German, just to see if there were any pilots to interrogate. Or, he could pass as another pilot, and leave to get help for Deryn. After all, they were still friends, whether she was a boy or a girl.

Back to deciphering his feelings. Maybe he did like Deryn. It still seemed…weird, or awkward that she liked him. He had never been in a relationship before; he didn't know what he was feeling. He liked her, but what was the scared feeling? Caution, of course, but…this was different.

As he said before, he didn't want to mess up. There were other places where he could be sloppy. This was not one of them. He liked her so much that he was afraid to admit it to her because he was afraid of failing. If he lost her then…he would be heartbroken. That's what he was avoiding! But, if he didn't tell her, he could never feel heartbroken! But then he wound never feel the love either, he was torn!

So, final conclusions now. He did like her. That scared feeling was there just because he was afraid of messing up, losing her, and then being heartbroken. Was he going to tell her? This was iffy, if he didn't tell her, he could avoid messing up. But then, he could never openly love Deryn. He would just be crushing in silence, like she was and is. The thought that somebody, some girl, found him attractive was still shocking to him!

Well, he would tell her, and take the chances. He could be heartbroken, but she did like him too, so it was worth the chance! He hoped…

**I'm not that great at german, but I know enough for various odds and ends. I'm fluent in English and Mandarin(although I'm not Chinese, long story) but sadly, there's no china in this story…but only this one(HINT)**


	5. Realizations

**Read. Just do it.**

He was coming back. What had he scrounged up for them? He was too far to see, Deryn couldn't tell what he was holding. If only she could get up!

He saw her again. This caused such mixed emotions, he didn't know whether to tell her or not suddenly, apparently it was easier said than done. But he couldn't have a chance with her if he didn't tell, so he would!

"Alek! What'd you bring?" She asked, once he had gotten with in 20 feet or so.

"I couldn't find much. I found… a memory of one of our friends." He holds the circular object out in front of him.

"Doctor Barlow… Her bowler hat." Deryn has a remorse look on her face but easily converts back to conversation. "So Alek, did you do any thinking on your walk?" hoping he thought about _her_. Not in the Dylan sense, in the Deryn sense.

"Plenty." Alek says, avoiding it because he had suddenly diverted back to not telling her.

"About what?"Deryn says, an innocent look on her face.

"About…the past few days, and family." Alek states plainly. Deryn's face loses some coloring, and she looks as if she is holding back tears. "But, mostly, I thought about you." A great weight lifts itself from Alek's chest.

"Really?" Deryn asks, not sure if she should be believing what she is hearing.

"Yes, Deryn, I like you." Alek confesses, hoping _she _hadn't changed her mind.

"Alek…get over here. I want to be able to hug you."

Alek, moves over closer to her, where Deryn puts him in the most romantic embrace she can with the tunnel's height and her injury. Alek enjoys it, but still feels clueless as what to do next. A few seconds later, he gets it, hug back!

"Deryn…"

"mhhm, what?"

"Could you stop, I want to talk."

"Okay, sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Wait, you're not mad I cut it short, are you?"

"No" There it was again, he really didn't want to mess up for her!

"Well, what will happen with us…if we get out of here?"

"we could go to your home, I wouldn't mind being the empress…wait, IF?"

"You could be, as emperor I can name my heir ,so there would be no squabble over whether our children would be my heir. Yes, If. Everybody thinks the Germans left no survivors, so why would they come looking for us? We have one flare, that's it! But to use a flare, we need to spot an aircraft."

"Aye, you're right. I suppose we could eventually try and walk to find the nearest Swiss village."

"Deryn, we need to get somewhere fast, your wound isn't healing. It's only getting worse."

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice, Alek you have enough things to worry about, don't worry about me."

"But…I like, you Deryn, I don't want to lose you."

Awwww Deryn thought, that's so sweet!

"Alek, I know. The news you've told me, or brought up is quite saddening. I learned that you DO like me back, there's probably nobody looking for us, and I'm not healing, but my wound is…"She pauses, afraid to say it. "getting worse"

"Me liking you is saddening?" Alek says, fearing that he messed up already.

"No! I meant the other 2 pieces of news were saddening, I was just listing off what I learned."

Alek felt a weird kind of sickness. He had butterflies in his stomach, his head spun, but he felt a strange sort of happiness too. His mother said he would get it eventually, what was it called? Lovesickness. He liked her that much, he realized. He couldn't let them go unfound, or let her wound kill her before they were found. He had to help her.

"Deryn, do you need anything? If not, I'm going to go watch for planes."

"No Alek, not now."

"Okay then."

**Not in the mood for talking. Address all complaints to…Why do you have complaints?**


	6. Don't forget flares are fire too!

**So, I'm all hyped up on Mountain Dew right now! If caffeine and sugar are like alcohol and smaller people take more of an effect quickly, then I, being like 5'0, have a very strong effect going on. It's more of an action-ish chapter. But not really.**

Alek was watching the sky, it must've been 200 hours, or some ridiculous time like that. But, he was watching, he had to get them out of there.

They had crashed 5 days ago. He had accidentally made Deryn tell him 4 days ago. He still felt mean by doing that, it was a very rude gesture to a woman! He hadn't known, and she wasn't mad, but he still felt stupid for doing so. 3 days ago, he had confessed to liking her back. And for the next 2 days, he had been trying to find a way for them to escape. Deryn was sleeping 18 hours a day, she was not going to last much longer, he had to find a way out soon! There was enough food in the survival kit for 1 person to eat 3 meals a day for 2 weeks. They only had enough for both of them for 1 week. Alek had been sneaky about it, but while Deryn ate her 3 meals a day, he ate 2 for days 2-4 but today he was only going on one, Deryn was definitely the one who needed their limited food more. 

She wasn't getting better, and their chance of being found was small. His arm wound was also not healing, hindered by the cold. He had gone and gotten anything he could from the _Leviathan_, even if just to burn it in their fire. He didn't want either of them to get frostbite, so he built a fire and a chimney in their tunnel, to help keep them warm. They also melted snow to drink and cook the freeze-dried food.

He knew Deryn was in poor condition, so he did all of the work, which he didn't mind. To do something like this to save somebody's life of whom he's in a romantic relationship with, it seemed like nothing.

"Alek…"

"Yes Deryn?" When watching for aircraft he was only a yard out the door, so he was ready when ever Deryn needed him.

"Did you see anything?" Her voice was soft, she had almost no energy because of the machine gun wound in her hip.

"No, Deryn. I would've told you."

"Okay Alek. Could you…"

"Some more water, yes, I already started melting the snow when you stirred."

"Thank you Alek, you're so sweet." Deryn wanted to let him know what she thought of him, how could they trust each other if they weren't open with each other?

Alek felt a pang in his heart, what seemed like a small compliment had gone deep in him, opening him up more to their relationship. To himself, he felt reassured, even though it was Deryn who brought them together as a couple in the first place.

"You're welcome, Deryn. Are you feeling alright?" She had seemed spaced out the last few days. He put his hand on her forehead." Deryn! You've got a huge fever, you're burning up!"

"Really? I… didn't think so."

"I doubt you're sick, Deryn. But when an infection is starting it can cause…I've got to find us a plane"

She had already gone to sleep, she seemed to go like a rock, just randomly.

They spent about three more days like this, Deryn's fever inching up, she was spending less and less time awake. Alek was eating only 1 meal a day, conserving the food for Deryn. She didn't find out either, she was awake so infrequently. It was day 8 out in the cold.

"my arm must be getting infected, I hear the blood pounding in my ears."

"Really?"

"What? When did you wake up?"

"A few minutes ago." Deryn says innocently, like a small child, Alek notes.

"Well…it's nice to talk to you while you're awake."

"Alek, I hear it too."

"The buzzing?"

"Yes, look outside, maybe it's a splutterbird! A 2 person flier that spits the air out the back that it would exhale, which makes it go"

"We have one problem, if we go to Britain, they'll lock me up."

"Good point. But, we could always lie about who you are."

"Probably not, when I became emperor it was probably in every newspaper, I'll be recognized."

"I'll vouch for you!"

"As who, the lying midshipwoman? I don't think so."

"We could…" Alek cuts her off

"There it is!"

Alek fires their flare, the small orange rocket flying up towards the flying machine.

"Uh oh." Alek says, realizing he made a HUGE mistake.

"What happened, Alek, I can't see out very high up."

"It was a Clanker patrol plane, set to check for survivors."

"Did it see us?"

"YEAH!"

"Okay, okay don't get mad."

"I wasn't, the flare hit him!"

"Really? Is it still flying?"

"There is a very open cockpit, we hit the pilot. I'd rather not talk about what's happening."

"You know you can tell me."

"We umm…Set him on fire, he fell out too. I think he's dead."

"That's good, but the plane?"

"Right! We can go see if his plane made it!"

"Okay, let's go."

"You forget that you can't walk, do you want me to try to carry you, or wait here?"

"I'll just lean on you, I'll take it from there."

**There! The end is near…NOT! Geez, if you think I'd end my brilliant little idea there then… wait about 6-9 chapters. Idk how many more I'll make.**


	7. Long Haul

**Blah blah, I totally made up the first line below this. **

"Sorry Deryn, I know their tactics, when that doesn't return, more will come."

"We're not going?"

"No, you're not going to try and walk and fall and get hurt more."

"Then what? You wouldn't leave me…"Deryn stops talking as Alek gets into the cave, and wraps an arm around her side, and the other on the back of her knees. He then sends her side onto his back, and begins a fireman's carry.

"I'll carry you there, we probably have 30 minutes for me to carry you 2 miles."

"Wha…"Deryn is shocked, not being conscious the last time he carried her. She seems to take it as more of a romantic gesture in her fever, by this time she clearly delirious.

"Here we go!" Alek starts running, or trying, considering how deep the snow was.

20 minutes or so pass, Alek runs as fast as he can, and even when it seems like the frosty, dry air gets to him and he's huffing and puffing, the drive to save his girlfriend drives him on, and it's during this process he realizes he should shed his cautious shell. Deryn trusts him, so why should he not trust her?

"Alek I hear something."

"I…Do…Too…"Alek says between puffs, he doesn't say more, he needs all of his air to get them out of there.

"There it is!" Deryn shouts, despite the fact that her head is directly next to hid ear in this particular carry.

"I know!" Alek swiftly sets her down in the rear seat, usually for an observer, but this Aeroplane wasn't being used for that, so it didn't have one flying it. Alek then hopped into the pilots seat, found the spare pairs of flight goggles for each of them, and revved the engine.

"Alek…is this safe."

"Nope. But more so than on the ground right now."

"Okay…There's the other fighters!"

"I see 'em." Alek sets the plane to warm the machine guns, in case they realize he's not the pilot.

Their plane starts moving, gaining speed, and eventually taking off. As they fly by the other planes, they send thumbs up, seeing what he answers. He answers with a pistol shot to one, hitting the pilot in the side of the head. The plane glides down, landing. The other plane, realizing what had just happened, attempts to turn and combat them, but Alek had turned in his seat and shot the remaining pistol shots at him. None hit the pilot, but a few did pierce the engine, sending it spiraling down.

"Are we good now, Alek?"

"I hope so."

"Where are we headed?"

"I was going to ask you that."

"Maybe France, if we were to go Darwinist, or if we want to land in clanker territory, we head straight for Austria-Hungary. The military should accept me into power, and then the country will follow afterwards. Meanwhile, I will talk with your Winston Churchill, and settle this war. The murder of my father was done by Serbian rebels, not Darwinist powers."

"How about Clanker. The faster you're in power, the fewer lives are lost in this barking war!"

**Review? Or not, whatever meets your fancy.**


	8. Returned home

…

About 4 hours later, they were where Alek wanted to land. They had to weave in between various planes and zeppelins, so the flight had taken longer.

Alek lands the plane without being noticed. He then picks up Deryn in a more regular carry, and finds the senior officer of the airfield. He sets Deryn down in a chair, and goes in to speak with him. They're speaking in German, Deryn is falling asleep, she catches none of it.

"Hello, Lt General." Alek says, head held high, as if speaking to an inferior.

"Bahahahaha! And who are you, boy? Oh my…" The officer gasps, realizing he's speaking to the new emperor of his empire, whose picture has been in the newspapers everyday since the old emperor died "My sincere apologies, your serene and royal highness."

"Do not bother with title here, I have just come back from a very long adventure, Lt. General. I would like you to set up a cab ride over to my palace, pronto!"

"Yes sir!"

"Deryn, wake up, we'll get you a doctor."

"But…you clanker Doctors…"

"You'll be alright Deryn." Alek says, sounding much more assured than he really is.

He has her lean on him over to the car, where he says a quick stream of words to the driver, and is off towards the palace.

**Sorry for shortness, but I'll include more in the next chapter.**


	9. Alek's arrive home

**Still short, I know.**

Maids dropped their cleaning utensils, cooks dropped food. The Emperor is back!

Alek was then greeted by the royal advisor, a cook, and 3 doctors, upon request by him.

"I will not draft troops! I will end the war!" He yells at his advisor, asking whether or not they wanted to force people to fight for them. " Could you help her, look at that wound!"Alek says to the doctors, although it was more like a command than a question. Then, to the cook" Triee ercht soup for myself, and

The doctors lead them into the palace infirmary, where they cut Alek's and Deryn's makeshift bandages off, and start treating them. Alek's they simply place on a different bandage soaked in something to use as an anti-biotic.

"You are fine, sir, but her…"

"Do what you can, we will be venturing to Darwinist lands later, just keep her alive until then" The doctors had known the emperors and royalty long enough that they knew not to question what they said.

The doctors did everything they could with Deryn, and then brought her to her room, and Alek went to his after eating a meal.

**I'm thinking a few more chapters, then I go back to "Will Alek make it" It's still got some writing to go.**


	10. Negotiations

**Edited a few things in this, makes it read a bit smoother.**

"Hello, Mr. Churchill" Alek says, it's a few days after he got back, and he was meeting Winston Churchill on German shores, Churchill very interested in the idea of peace.

"And Hello to you, your highness."

"Ah, Mr. Churchill, may I call you Winston? I would like to have a closer friendship with you, despite my being much younger. You may address me as Alek, and I know more about Darwinists and especially the _Leviathan_ than you may think.

"Okay, Alek, you're already on my good side. Any new leader who wants to make peace is a friend of mine. I've heard of your _leviathan _trip, poor planning on both of our parts."

"Well, back to business, Winston. I am very upset about the war my grand-uncle started, and know that it was not Darwinist powers that conspired the death of my father."

"I do not like the war either, which is why I would like to end it. I don't know why we're going through this formality, why not just sign a peace treaty? I already have signatures of the other Darwinist powers, so I'll sign it, and you?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to. Would this permit me to go visit Britain, I have personal reasons to be there." Winston signs the peace treaty between these two powers, and hands it to Alek.

"Of course! But, if you don't mind my asking, what are these reasons?"

"While I was onboard the _Leviathan _I met a good friend, Dylan Sharp. But after the crash, I found that this 'Dylan' Sharp was actually Deryn Sharp. I am in a relationship with Deryn Sharp, and she was badly wounded in our escape. I would like to cross over there for her medical attention, and so her family could know she is alright. Mind, I am telling you this in confidence, you may not have her punished for serving." Alek looks down, and signs the treaty, after taking another look through it.

"That's fine, Alek. I have even been known to break my own rules occasionally. So, do we allow open borders in the treaty? I'll let you take her there, I'll even let you buy a place in London!"

"Thank you, our conversation has been very productive, Mr. Churchill."


	11. Headed for Glasgow

"**The moment you've all been waiting for…" Nope, it isn't. Well, depending on what you're looking for.**

Alek and Deryn were taking a zeppelin over to Glasgow from the palace, as Deryn wanted it to be similar to the _Leviathan_.

"So, Deryn, I'll get to meet your family here?" Alek asked her. As a leader, he knew that he had to make good ties among the family members to have approval to date Deryn and maybe marry her.

"Yes, Alek, you will. Jaspert was even able to take a leave right now, so he's there to!"

"Great, and your mother?"

"She'll probably come, but she's still mad at me about joining the air corps."

"Deryn, would you rather have not been in the service? You wouldn't be in this predicament."

"No, because then I'd be at home knitting and what not. Besides, then I wouldn't have met you." She says as they're touching down outside Glasgow. She smiles up at him while she says the last comment.

"There's a medical wagon that will take us into the city hospital, Deryn. I already have it arranged." He says, helping her board the wagon.

They ride for a short time, Deryn drifts to sleep, overwhelmed with being home. Alek stares out the window, amazed at how many creatures could be in one place! As they pull up to the hospital, many nurses and doctors run out to meet them. They must've been told the emperor was here, and told to give him extra treatment, to make a good impression Alek thought.

They got Deryn out of the wagon, and took her inside. Alek waited in a waiting room for 2 hours or so before he was allowed into Deryn's room.

**I think I'll end it here…**

**APRIL FOOLS!**

**I got you good, didn't I? No? Sheesh, just having a little fun…**


	12. Jaspert Encounter

**I say it like a wild animal encounter…Because.**

"Deryn, are you feeling any better?" Alek asks, as he is finally allowed into the room.

"They've stitched my wound up, and re-bandaged it."

"Great! When is your family getting here?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I have other news. Remember how we got rid of most of my gold? Well, I'm wealthy again, because I have the Emperor's gold treasury now!"

"Great! For you, anyways…"

"That's the other thing I wanted to ask you. Do you want to come back to Austria-Hungary after this, or stay here in Scotland?"

But just then, the door flies open, and Jaspert comes in.

"Deryn!" He yells, and runs over to her bedside, and hugs her. All the while not noticing Alek.

"Jaspert! Thanks for coming! But where's mum?"

"Didn't want to come, how badly hurt are you? How'd you get out?"

"I was working on the ship, feeding the bats, when Alek came and started taking me upstairs…" Jaspert cuts her off

"Does he know?"

"Of course he knows, Jaspert, he's sitting right behind you!" 

Jasper turns around,his eyes zeroing in on Alek and yells "You!" 

"What?" Alek says, not sure why Jaspert is mad.

"You did this to her!" Alek sees Jaspert's fists clench, and then briefly sees Jaspert's fists fly, and then feels pain in his head, just forward of the temple, and in his side.

"No no, you've got it all wrong!" Alek says, falling onto the floor from fear. Jaspert grabs his shirt, hoisting him up, and shoves him against the wall of the room.

"If it wasn't for your Huxley jump, she wouldn't have this problem!"

"But I…"

"SHUT UP!" Jaspert yells, flinging Alek across the room.

Alek gets up, wobbly, he looks like he landed wrong and hurt an ankle. He takes a quick glance at Deryn, and runs down the hallway out of her room, crying, sobbing and limping all the way.

Deryn gasps, realizing what just played out before her. She then whispers "Jaspert…"

He walks over to her, and kneels by her bed. "Yes, Der?"

"What did you DO?" She tried to keep her voice down, but it ended up a yell anyways.

"Should I have hit him more, or harder?"

"you don't get it!" She yells at him, before taking a big swing, her nails digging into his cheek as she slaps him.

"But…He got you hurt. Plus, he's a clanker!"

"Yes, He's a clanker, one that I love!" Deryn quickly regrets telling him then, she had wanted him to find out later…when he got the wedding invitation. Which there probably won't be now.

"No you don't. How could you, after what he did? For once, Deryn you make no sense whatsoever! I thought you weren't a lass as daft as that. Who are you?"

That hurt. Deryn had always been her brother's partner, his sidekick, his teammate. But now, they couldn't be more different. But he was right, he didn't know her. She was better now.

"Alek's Huxley jump saved me from burning on board the ship when it went down. But it's not like you could recognize that, or even let him finish his barking sentence before beating him up. Sure, he's not like you, or any of the boys from home. But he's who _I_ like, which you can't seem to accept." She stated, hoping he was experiencing as much emotional turmoil as she was. Which He couldn't be, she hadn't just beat up his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry Deryn. If you're right, then I do… Accept him."

"I don't need _your permission_, I can do what I want. But, if you want to make it up to me, apologize to him. But who knows, it may be too late, we may be…done." As she faces reality and realizes, tears form in her eyes, and she looks away from him, she didn't think he'd ever seen her cry, except when her Da died, but he did too, so it didn't matter then.

"I'm fine with you liking him, but I don't want to meet him again. No, Deryn I won't apologize."

"But Jaspert, what did he do to you?" She screamed at him, crying at the same time.

"Der, you'll never get it, will you?"

"No, you won't. You don't like him because he's a clanker. But he's trying to end the war, which you can't recognize. He saved my life, which you didn't even care about enough to get your facts straight."

"What has that Clanker bastard done to you? You're so different now, Deryn." Jaspert says, stone faced, looking at Deryn as if trying to recognize her.

"Jaspert…" But he was already out the door.

**I don't know where to go from here.**


	13. Pains

**Sorry it's so short. The next might be too. The Title of this chapter is so overused in fics and cheesy, but it fits.**

Alek was in the air. Flying, or so he thought. Then the back of his head connected with the wall, then so did his back, and reality came rushing back to him. When his foot hit the ground, he heard something and he felt a great searing pain in his ankle. His head was throbbing where Jaspert's fist had connected with it, only an inch forward of his temple. His eyes focused, and suddenly, his injuries aside; he was afraid.

Afraid of Jaspert. He thought it would be an encounter of laughs and shared stories, mostly his and Deryn's escape, but it turned into a violent encounter. Fear took over his senses, his arms pushed him up from the ground, and his legs straightened. He balanced, wobbled, and picked up a run down the hallway. He hadn't noticed that at some point he had started crying. He was crying from fear. Not just fear, pain and heartbreak. He could never meet Deryn again, and he didn't know why, but he blamed himself. He _knew_ it wasn't something he did, it was Jaspert. Or was it? He had fallen for her. Who would've guessed?

His servant. He came to the front of the building, choked out an order to take him home, and he was in the carriage pulled by some beast. Was it ungodly? He had been taught that. But living aboard the Leviathan had changed him. Think of it like a machine, he told himself, and then it won't seem ungodly.

The carriage took him to an awaiting Zeppelin, which was to take him back. All of the Zeppelins were going back. The war is almost over, all that needs to be done is to convince Russia to stop attacking. But Churchill was going to do that, they were allies, not him and Russia.

Alek had managed to stop crying in the carriage. Once onboard the zeppelin, he had gotten his ankle looked at, and the two spots on his head where he was punched and hit the wall. He was told they would only become bruises, and bad ones at that. Now he was at home, although he'd only ever been to the emperor's palace a few times before. But the first thing he did after arriving was find his grand-uncle's, his, he corrected himself, bedroom and go to sleep. Sleep didn't come suddenly, but he just slowly seemed to drift off. He was half asleep when he started crying again, but this time only out of heartbreak. He didn't know if he cried while he slept, as his mind was asleep while his body was awake, and it took them a while to catch up to each other.

**I think it's okay. One of the better chapters. I like this one and the last one. Tell me what you think in your…Review!**


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